• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Greinke, Brewers battle Rays again at Miller Park

Jun 21, 2011 - 3:06 PM (Sports Network) - Righty Zack Greinke and his Milwaukee Brewers aim for a return to the winning side of the ledger tonight, when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Miller Park.

The Rays drew first blood in Monday's opener, winning an 8-4 verdict that gave Milwaukee its second straight loss and cost the club a share of the lead in the National League's Central Division.

The Brewers entered the game tied with the St. Louis Cardinals at 40-33, but dropped a half-game behind their idle rivals after Evan Longoria hit a three- run homer and Jeff Niemann threw six shutout innings for the Rays.

The Cardinals open a National League series with Philadelphia tonight. In the AL, the Rays are third in the East, 4 1/2 games behind front-running Boston.

Longoria finished with four RBI, while B.J. Upton drove in two for Tampa Bay, which has won four straight.

Niemann (2-4) gave up just four hits and three walks with five strikeouts while pitching for the first time since May 4. He was on the disabled list with a lower back strain.

Yuniesky Betancourt drove in two, Jonathan Lucroy hit a solo home run and Prince Fielder plated the other run for the Brewers, who have lost four of five and six of eight.

Chris Narveson (4-5) was tagged for four runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Greinke was acquired from Kansas City in an offseason trade and had won six straight decisions before his last outing on June 16 at Wrigley Field, where he was ripped for eight hits and six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 12-7 loss to Chicago.

The Orlando native hadn't lost since his May 4 debut with the Brewers, as he lasted just four innings and allowed five runs in an 8-0 defeat at Atlanta.

The loss to the Cubs, in which Greinke struck out 10, saw his earned run average swell from 4.69 to 5.23. He is 1-4 lifetime against Tampa Bay in 11 appearances with a 3.58 ERA over 55 1/3 innings.

The Rays start 24-year-old right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who'll seek an end to a two-start skid.

The Des Moines, Iowa native was 7-3 on the season after a 3-2 win at Seattle on June 4, but has dropped consecutive starts at Baltimore and home with the Red Sox while giving up 11 hits and eight runs in 12 2/3 innings.

A 2005 draft pick, Hellickson reached the majors and won four decisions in 10 appearances at the end of last season while tossing 36 1/3 innings with a 3.47 ERA.

His ERA this season was 2.64 after the win over the Mariners, but has since grown to 3.09.

He has never faced the Brewers.

Tampa Bay and Milwaukee are squaring off for the first time since the Rays took two of three meetings at home from June 13-15, 2005.